Flowers in Awkward Bloom
by faeces
Summary: Two socially awkward individuals have a chance meeting. Oneshot. R&R! Red x Jasmine


**Flowers in Awkward Bloom**

My first every Pokemon fanfic.

I do not own Pokemon and any of its related material.

Seriously we need more of this couple

Remember to read and review! I love reviews!

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Nervousness, anxiousness, excitement, anticipation, fear; a myriad of emotions played out in Red's consciousness as he made his descend from Mt. Silver. It had been 7 long years since he had called the mountain his home, 7 long years in isolation less the occasional trainer battles, 7 long years since he had contact with human society.

He would return to Pallet Town, his home, where it all began and revisit those whom he had left behind. His mom would tearfully embrace him at the doorstep. Professor Oak would welcome him with a small smile and tell him to pay Blue a visit in Viridian. This would have been the case were Red a normal kid. But Red had never been normal to start with.

Those who weren't familiar with Red would never understand his decisions. Perhaps no one did, not even his mum, Oak or Blue. They simply accepted and put up with him, for this was who Red was. And Red's decision to explore Sinnoh upon his descent without paying a visit to his loved ones was probably one of those incomprehensible decisions.

Defeating Team Rocket, collecting all 8 gym badges and becoming champion at the tender age of 11 years was no mean had been hailed a prodigy by the media and everyone assumed that he would be the "next big thing" in the Pokemon world. But as a young 11 year old boy who had been raised in a small and secluded town by his kind mother, he was oblivious to all the hype and potential influence he could have over the Pokemon world. He turned down all offers and chose to call Mt. Silver his home. It was a decision none could understand and the general public, being normal as they were, believed that Red desired to become even stronger than he already was. But Red had simply been in awe of the colossal snow-capped structure that divided Kanto and Johto.

Red had chosen to surf all the way to Sinnoh, another one of his seemingly illogical decisions. He would have taken the plane had he not felt such strong unsureness in coming into contact with humans. A long surf would help to soothe his emotions and provide time for him to mentally prepare himself to mingle in the sea of humans. He made sure to switch between Lapras and Blastoise to ensure that both had enough rest out in the ocean.

The shore was finally coming into view. Lapras began to speed up, excited at the prospect of setting foot on soil that wasn't Mt Silver. But as the backdrop of the city came into view, Red gulped, spotting a fellow member of his race standing on the shore looking out into the sea. Panic gripped him, encouraging him to turn back. Red took in a big breath, he had to face humans sooner or later.

How he got off Lapras was nothing short of awkward, his actions stiff as he felt the human's gaze on him. Returning Lapras to his Pokeball, he mentally visualised how he would make a swift turn and make a quick walk towards the city, giving off the impression that he did not see whoever it was that had been looking at him. Stupid, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment.

But lady luck must have been toying with him for the moment he spun around, he made eye-contact with the said individual. A girl. She was dressed in a sky blue dress with a white overcoat and had light brown eyes and matching hair that swayed in the wind. She looked to be around his age.

Only when she blushed and looked away did Red realise that he had been gawking at her for a little too long. He cursed himself mentally for his absent mindedness. Now he was in awkward situation where it would be rude to just walk away.

"Umm..."

Red looked up, only to have both of them avert their gazes the moment their eyes met again.

"... This city makes me feel at home somehow. It's next to the sea, and there's a lighthouse. Oh, that's this town's Gym Badge. You must be very good. ...Er...um... P-please, take this, too."

Her voice was soft and trembling, her fingers fidgeted as she spoke. She clumsily put both her hands out to offer Red what appeared to be disc.

Did girls always look and sound this cute? Living in seclusion, everyday had been like any other day and unknowingly 7 years had passed. Those years had Red matruing from a 11 year old kid to an 18 year old adolescent, an age where hormones would seek to steer his emotions into unexplored seas. This fact was lost on Red, whose mind had him trapped within the confines of the 11 year old him, albeit a lot taller.

_Badge?_ Red grabbed the lapel of his jacket to examine the badges he had pinned on the inside, a sign of his triumphs 7 years ago. They had lost their lustre; colours fading, chipped and a few were even rusting. He looked back up, holding the side of his jacket open, and tilted his head ever so slightly.

The girl gasped and glanced about, her eyes tracing the ground around him.

"Umm.. ummm... I'm really sorry!" She squeaked and bowed her head.

Red was apalled. He scraped his mind to formulate an appropriate response, all the while blankly staring at the girl before him.

"... I'm really really sorry... so... so... please..."

_Was she crying?_ His bodily systems went on red alert, sending panic signals throughout his body.

Through adolescence Red had not only grown taller. His face had grown sharper and more angular with the loss of baby fat on his cheeks. Coupled with his naturally crimson eyes and seemingly cold demeanor, he was intimidating at best, horrifying at worst. Not to mention that he towered over the girl and blankly staring her down with the shadow of his cap shading his face was a none too pleasant experience. He had unknowingly terrified her but this was another fact that was lost on Red.

Red's eyes darted around the shore, fixating themselves upon a twig. He hastily picked it up and kneeled to the girl's right, bent forward and traced out a large -SORRY- on the sand.

His hands stopped, trying to formulate the right words to scribble on the sand.

-I'M-

Red stopped. He swept the sand over the words.

The girl at this point had stopped sniffing, and was looking on curiously.

-I CAN'T TALK-

Red tightened his fists, crushing the twig. He always hated this. People would give him sympathetic stares upon such revelation, their initial enthusiasm in their desire to speak to him gone without a trace. They would usually leave after a few difficult exchanges and those who continued were only intrigued by his disability, never leaving the topic of mutism.

He was bullied and spat on by the kids in school because he could never cry or shout. Only curl up in silence as tears streamed down his cheeks. But Blue had been different. Blue picked on Red but his reasons for doing so never infringed on his disability. He picked on Red like how a bully would pick on a weaker classmate. That was what he liked about Blue, he never made him feel special or different.

Even as Red decided to become a Pokemon trainer, Blue never once doubted him because he was mute. He would lament his incapability but never because he was mute. Everyone told him it was impossible because he was mute but not Blue. Blue told him it was impossible because he was weak.

When Blue had been defeated at the Pokemon League, he simply smirked and walked away in silence. Red never once felt that he had surpassed Blue, Blue had always been stronger than him. He was someone who could look over his disability to see Red for what he was even when Red had trouble doing so himself.

Red wanted to go back, back to Mt. Silver.

That's when the girl knelt down next to him, giving him a smile. The smile was everything but perfect. She looked comical smiling while she still had tears welling up in her eyes.

-I'M JASMINE- she traced using her finger. Red felt like an idiot, he never needed the twig.

-I'M FROM JOHTO-  
-I'M HERE BECAUSE OF THE CONTESTS-

Red thought she looked a lot more calm than before when she was trying to speak. She stopped, and Red took this as sign that it was his turn.

He hesitantly wrote down the words -I'M RED- He glaced in her direction, checking for some sort of reaction. There was no one in Kanto and Johto that did not know him.

She giggled. She was cute.

-THAT'S A FUNNY NAME-

She didn't know him? Red smiled, excited at the prospect of finally being able to talk to someone. Most of all, he liked how this was going. There was no mention of his muteness, no excited squeals of his exploits. Just a simple down to earth conversation between two individuals where he wasn't treated like a special specimen. He felt encouraged to go on.

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**Man, I really had a lot of difficulty writing this and this isn't how I wanted it to end but I couldn't seem to go on and stopped it there, seeing as it may have been better.**

**Anyway thanks for reading! Please read and review!**

**And we need more love for Red X Jasmine, they're too cute together.**


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